The present invention relates generally to golf clubs, and more particularly to a golf club head optimized for sound. More specifically, the golf club head has at least a sole portion which is sufficiently stiffened to provide a higher frequency sound which is aesthetically pleasing when the golf club head impacts the golf ball.
The sound of a golf club upon impact may influence an opinion of a golf club. Some of the golf clubs now on the market have sound characteristics that are not pleasing to the user. Modern large drivers or metal wood golf clubs with high moments of inertia typically have a golf club head with a sole defining a large area. Oftentimes, the issue with the sound characteristics can be attributed to the large, flat, thin sole of the golf club head.
When the driver hits the ball, the frequency of the sound that results depends upon the stiffness of the surfaces of the driver head. Large thin flat surfaces, such as the sole on a modern deep driver head, tend to create lower frequencies when excited in this manner. Observation tells us that many golfers prefer heads that produce higher frequencies.
Designers of large modern drivers are always trying to conserve weight in order to be able to optimize the center of gravity location of the golf head, or to add features for user adjustment of the head. A thin, light sole is usually preferable if the sound characteristics that result can be kept acceptable. The designer wants to use weight elsewhere, and generally wants to minimize the thickness of the sole.
The thin large sole can also be made much stiffer by adding curvature. But adding curvature usually results in moving more of the golf club head's weight up and away from the ground. Driver designers are usually trying to get the center of gravity of the head as low as possible. Thus, designers are looking for ways to keep the driver sole relatively flat in order to help keep the center of gravity of the driver as close to the ground as possible.
Therefore, it would be advantageous in golf club driver design to be able to create a sole that is stiff and to minimize the overall weight of the club while not providing the golf club head with a poor sound at impact with the golf ball. Also, it is desired to minimize the weight in the sole in order to have more discretionary design weight for other uses.